Julio González

Madeleine Lejwa (Chalette International), New York
Gita Sherover, Jerusalem (acquired from the above in 1984)
Bequest of the above in 2004

SP-Revista de Información Mundial, Historia de una semana, Madrid, 1959, illustration of another cast p. 37
Vicente Aguilera Cerni, Julio González, Rome, 1962, illustration of another cast
Poul Vad, "Optegnelser af Optegnelser af González," Signum 2, Copenhagen, 1962, illustration of another cast p. 13
Marie N. Pradel de Grandry, Julio Gonzàlez (I Maestri della scultura vol. 25), Milan, 1966, no. XIII
Marie N. Pradel de Grandry, "La Donation Gonzàlez au Musée National d'Art Modern," La Revue du Louvre, Paris, 1966, no. 54,
pl. 22
Pierre Descargues, Julio Gonzàlez (Le Musée du Poche), Paris, 1971, no. 26, illustration of another cast pp. 56 & 57
Vicente Aguilera Cerni, Julio, Joan, Roberta González, Itinerario de una dinastía, Barcelona, 1973, no. 243, illustration of another cast
p. 281
Jean Soldini, "Malincolia di Gonzàlez," Il Bollettino 2, Lugano, 1983, illustration of another cast p. 49
Josephine Withers, Julio González, Sculpture in Iron, New York, 1978, no. 109, illustration of another cast p. 82
Jörn Merkert, Julio González, Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Milan, 1987, no. 208, illustration of another cast p. 226

Rich brown patina. The work is screwed to the base near the center (although not completely fixed.) There is some surface dirt overall, with some slight oxidation visible in the crevices and in some uneven areas in the casting process near the bottom and inside edge of the figure. The work is in very good condition overall.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Personnage allongé II dates from one of the most productive periods of Julio González's career, when he produced a series of iron masterpieces that transformed modern sculpture following his collaboration with Picasso from 1928 to 1932. It was Picasso's influence that changed the direction of Gonzalez's career; prior to 1928 he was primarily a painter, despite his professional background in metalwork, but the experience of assisting Picasso in the execution of six metal sculptures during this period alerted him to the artistic possibilities that this medium presented.

The present work is an elegant construction of abstract geometric forms that plays on the disparity between the mechanistic abstraction of the piece and its figurative subject. As he commented of his own work in 1930, "A painter or sculptor can give a form to something which has no concrete form; such as light, colour, an idea. These forms will of course be imagined in reference to the human image. Difficult problems to be solved posed by the reinvented planes creating a new architecture" (Unpublished notes, circa 1930-31, Gonzalez Estate Archive, Paris). These sculptures are less about referencing a preconceived subject as a series of variations that are composed on an idea. Personnage allongé II constitutes a celebration of the act of craftsmanship and the properties of the material in which they are created.